Up to 75% of children will suffer from strong headaches by the age of 15
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Israeli study: Gum chewing causes migraines
Researchers from Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba find that children, teens who suffer from strong headaches regularly can improve their condition by kicking off habit of chewing gum
If your child suffers from headaches, don't give him gum. A new Israeli study suggests that gum chewing contributes to a high percentage of headaches among teenagers. According to the researchers, when the gum chewing is eliminated – so are the headaches.
Many triggers have been linked to this phenomenon, including stress, fatigue, lack of sleep, heat, video games, smoking, skipping meals and menstruation.
The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the Pediatric Neurology journal.
Chronic headaches, including migraines, are a common phenomenon among children and teens: About 2.5% of children under the age of 12 complain of regular headaches, and the rate goes up to 40% with age. Up to 75% of children will continue suffering from strong and irritating headaches by the age of 15.
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A one-year study conducted by Dr. Nathan Watemberg, Dr. Manar Matar and Dr. Miki Har-Gil of the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, together with Dr. Muhammad Mahajnah from the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, looked into the link between gum chewing among teens and headaches among 183 children and teenagers ages six to 19.
The patients were divided into four groups: The first chewed gum for about an hour a day, the second chewed gum for up to three hours, the third for up to six hours, and the rest for more than six hours a day. They were then asked to kick off the habit of chewing gum, and were reexamined a month later.
In the first group, which had chewed gum for about an hour a day, all patients reported an improvement in their headaches. In the second group, an improvement were observed among 91% of the patients, in the third group among 75%, and in the group which chewed gum for over six hours a day – 80% of patients reported an improvement in their headaches.
The link between gum chewing and headaches is still unclear to the researchers, but two previous studies offered different explanations. One study suggested that gum chewing causes stress to the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the place where the jaw meets the skull. The other study blamed aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in most popular chewing gums. TMJ dysfunction has been shown to cause headaches, while the evidence is mixed on aspartame.
"Excessive daily gum-chewing may be associated with chronic headache and should get more attention in the medical literature," the researchers concluded. "Physician and patient awareness of this association could have a meaningful impact on the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic headache who chew gum excessively."
